Becoming Human
by lillianerikson
Summary: In the end, dearie, it is not that Regina is broken. It is that she never learned to be whole. A lifetime of being mind-f**ced by an abusive narcissist will do that to a person. This is a slow burn, non-magical AU. There will be friendship, fighting, fleeing and other things starting with F on this journey towards wholeness.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The characters are neither mine, nor do I make any money off of them.

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_Author's Note 1:__** Becoming Human is a heavily revised version of my original Human story. We are going to take things very slow this time around.**_

_Author's Note 2:__** This is a Once Upon A Time alternate universe. All of the characters have full non-magical back stories. **__There is not, nor will there ever be, any magic in the Becoming Human universe._In the interest of full disclosure, this is Regina's story. I ship SwanQueen, but breathe Evil Regal. Regina's character is fascinating and has been woefully mistreated in the show.

_Author's Note 3:__** The sexy times, which showed up very early in Human, will appear but at a much later date.**_

_Author's Note 4: _Sheriff Swan has a very nice ring to it, so we are going to pretend that Graham left the picture before the T_hat Still Small Voice_ episode, and that Emma is Sheriff as opposed to Graham's deputy.

Also, I'm playing fast and loose with the timeline. **Unknot your knickers ladies, this is an A/U.**

* * *

Emma sat with her knees hugged to her chest, staring with blind eyes at the dingy wall across from the bed. There were tear drops staining the tops of her knees, and bite marks on her hand from where she used it to muffle sobs. Her son almost died today. Her son, whose running away and disobedience she encouraged, went where he had been forbidden and almost died because of it. Her son, whose adopted mother would have lowered herself down a mineshaft to go get him, was almost taken from that woman permanently.

Emma was ashamed. She had never considered the larger consequences of Henry's disdain for his legal guardian, or maybe, if she was being honest with herself, before today she had not cared. The sad part was that when she was Henry's age there would have been no Moms offering to get him out of an abandoned mine, or townspeople gathered around worrying about her safety. It would just have been the rescue workers pulling up a dirty little girl to be handed off to the person who would take her to the next group home. No love, no hugs, no celebratory dinners, she would have found nothing but indifference.

Emma was sure that the one thing Henry had never experienced in his life was indifference. For this reason, if nothing else, it was time to make peace, regardless of his mother's irascibility. Heaving a deep sigh, Emma dialed a familiar number. It was 9:30. Her son would be in bed, and hopefully his mother on her second glass of bitchiness-blunting hard cider.

"To what do I owe this honour, Ms. Swan? Has your apology of a car been towed again?"

"First, Mayor Mills, it's Sheriff Swan." Emma said.

"Second, since you dropped traffic enforcement on the Sheriff's department, I don't see why I would call you to complain about my car being towed."

"Traffic enforcement should have always been under the purview of the Sheriff's department." Regina said. "I am appalled that you got away with not having it this long."

"Lady, I've only been Sheriff for six months. Maybe if you hadn't been so busy sneaking around with the last one you would have noticed."

"How dare you!" Regina said, her words and breath coming out in short, angry spurts.

"How? You have my son. Whoever adopted him was supposed to be better than me. Not someone who has one of her employees climbing in and out of her bedroom window at all hours of the night. If I wanted my son exposed to that sort of thing, I would have- Damn it, Regina," Emma stopped herself mid-rant.

"I did not fucking call you to fucking argue! I promised myself that I wouldn't get into to it with you again. Fuck!"

There was a loud crash on the other end of the line. It sounded like glass hurled against a hard surface. "What did you call me for then, Sheriff Swan?" Regina said in a harsh tone. She was an angry as Emma had ever heard her. "You know what, I've been waiting for this call all night. Please, by all means, do tell me how Henry getting himself trapped in a mine is my fault? I know you want to. So let's get it out of the way, shall we? What is it this time? I'm too strict, or is that I smother him, or wait, I know... I am too busy being Mayor so Henry did this to get my attention."

Regina was yelling now. "Go ahead, Sheriff Swan, that is your new favourite hobby, right? Using your vast parenting experience to tell me everything I'm doing wrong with the boy I raised by myself for ten years. Don't hold back, you go right on ahead and tell me what I did wrong this time."

The ensuing silence was deafening. Emma flashed back to an injured barn owl she once found. It hooted, and hopped, and lunged at her over and over again. "Regina," Emma said speaking with the same soft, gentle tones that soothed the owl. "I am just trying to check on Henry. That's all, I swear. I just want to know how he is doing. Ok?"

The silence stretched for what seemed to be hours, but was only the few seconds Regina needed to compose herself. "My son is doing as well as can be expected given the circumstances."

Emma paused and took a deep breath, "Regina, please listen to what I am about to say, and let me finish before you respond. I get that the Ice Queen image is your thing, but you are human and we both know that you and I had a moment yesterday. Henry and I were talking about it earlier, and-"

"Excuse me? You and Henry discussed us having a moment?" Regina cut in, her voice sharp and cold.

"Yes, but cool your jets. We were not talking about the one where, I swear to God, you were going to kiss me-"

"What?" Regina exclaimed, "Have you taken leave of your senses? I was not about to-"

"Uh-huh, tell yourself that. Anyway, I was talking about the other moment, after he came out of the when, when we were checking him over together . Look, it felt good standing there with you. He was happy, and I was happy to have him see us interact without hostility. "

"Your point?" Emma could just see Regina punctuating this with one her patented eye rolls.

"So…" Emma hesitated, "The whole thing got me to thinking. We should spend a little more time seeing him as our son, and a little less time fighting over him. He is not a cookie." Worrying a piece of loose stitching on the edge of the bed, Emma rushed on, "So, the point of all this is to say that I want to make peace, and I'm wondering if you would join Henry and me on our trip to Canobie Lake on Friday?"

"Why would I want to do that?" Regina was indignant. "Isn't it bad enough that I know you have stolen my child's affections? I am not going to subject myself to it live."

"I have not stolen anything from you." Emma shook her head and wondered if she would ever get through to the woman. "Like it or not, I'm in his life. Yes, the adoption was closed, but I am here now and he knows who I am. It is not like we can undo that, and, frankly, I do not want to."

She paused and gentled her voice. "Regina, Henry is having problems, and something about me being here seems to help. The way I see it you have a choice; get to know me a little better so we can actually act civilised in front of our son or we can continue this war. I am not leaving him again."

Regina heaved an aggrieved sigh, "I appreciate that you want to make peace. It is a gratifying thing to hear, but I am not going off with you and Henry on some sort of weird family excursion." Emma could hear Regina's armchair creaking as she settled down into it. "You and I are not friends, and the only reason I permit these outings is that Henry would just run off to be with you anyway. At least, this way, I know where he is. However," Regina paused. "I am not an unreasonable person. I am willing to try burying the hatchet, but this Friday is too soon. He prefers your presence, and I just do not think I can handle right. Goodnight, Sheriff."

"Goodnight, Regina."

Emma sat staring at the phone in her hand. It was not quite right yet. There was more left to say, and it had to be said now. She called again.

"Sheriff Swan, " Regina answered with a deep sigh. "How may I help you?"

"Regina, there's something else I need to say. Can you just listen for a bit?"

"Go ahead, say what you have to say."

"I was seventeen. I was in jail. Jail— you know? And I thought that if I could do one thing right it would be to give him up. "

Emma took a deep breath and continued. "I was in the system. I knew babies got snapped up like that. I knew some nice family would take him, love him and give him a life. Good food, hugs, his own bed to come home too, and just everything. Then he shows up at my door, and he is so fucking beautiful." Her voice lowered to almost a whisper. It shook as she spoke. "He was so small when I held him that one time. He was wrinkled, and splotchy but man did he have a grip. He pulled my shirt when they took him from me."

"Sheriff, is this tale of woe going somewhere useful?"

It was strange, but Regina's bitchiness allowed Emma the space to collect herself.

"What I am trying to say, is that giving him up was hard, and hearing that he was unhappy was harder. All I could think as I was driving up here was that I had fucked up. The one good thing I was supposed to do was all fucked up."

Emma stood up and started pacing. Her words tumbling out, " So I am sorry for— I am sorry for coming at you like I have been. I felt guilty and was trying to— I don't know what I was trying to do really, but I am sorry. I'd like to start over with you. I can't leave Henry again. I just can't. It is too hard. So— Can we try? We don't have to be friends or anything, but I just don't want us to fight like this anymore."

"Why?" came the quiet reply.

"Because you were going to go down in that mine to get him. I was in the foster system for 16 years, and not once did anyone ever try to get me out of whatever deep, dark hole I fell into." Emma stared at her shadowed reflection in the small bedroom window, "Do you understand what I am saying, Regina? I need you to understand this. No one ever cared enough to rescue me from anything, but you care about Henry. You love him like that, and that was all I ever wanted, someone to love my baby like that."

"Sheriff Swan," Regina responded in a tired, broken voice. "I understand. I understand exactly."

Emma smiled for the first time that night, "Okay, try to have get some sleep Regina. Henry is safe now."

"Emma, wait—" Regina said in a rush.

The sound of her first name from Regina Mill's lips grabbed Emma's attention.

"Yes, I am still here."

"About Friday," Regina said after a long silence. "Henry and I will meet you at Granny's at 8:30 on Friday morning. We will have a decent breakfast, because it is bad enough that lunch and dinner will be amusement park junk food. We will take my car, because I'm not driving on the interstate in your yellow insult to German artistry and we will back in time for Henry to be in bed by ten pm."

"Yellow insult to what?" Emma was surprised to find herself laughing.

"The condition that you have allowed that car to fall into is an insult to the care and precision with which it was built. German cars are more than just cars; they are carefully engineered, precision driving machines.

Emma held back a giggle, "Regina, I did not know you were such a car freak."

"The term is aficionado, and there is a lot you don't know about me. However, it is late. I really must go now."

"Goodnight Regina. Try to have sweet dreams."

"Goodnight Emma."

Emma plopped down on the bed, and allowed herself a little smile. That went far better than expected.


	2. Chapter 2

Every head in Granny's diner turned to see the almost unheard of sight of Emma Swan strolling in before 10 am her day off. She slid into the Mayor's favourite booth, checked her watch, and announced to the shocked onlookers, "It is 8:15 am people. I am here and Madam Mayor is not. There would be no snide comments about chronic tardiness today. "

"Hell hath frozen over indeed, " An incredulous voice cut across the diner. "Emma Swan is actually on time."

Emma's head shot up, a smart retort on her lips, but stopped at the sight of Regina in casual attire with a hand on Henry's shoulder. Emma had never seen the woman in so much as a pair of mom jeans far less a silky, almost sheer, white button down, skin tight jeans and knee high boots. Regina hovered at the edge of the doorway, eyes skittering from booth to booth as if checking to see if Emma was really there. She looked uncomfortable, hands reaching for the edges of a power suit that was not there. The woman was smaller without her Mayoral armour, more lonely angel than unattainable Ice Queen.

Emma's heart broke a little. How many times had she been that been that person, standing on a threshold, torn between leaving the misunderstandings and missteps behind or holding tightly to each one. Emma got up and walked over to the pair. Stepping into Regina's personal space, she held Regina's gaze and said in a low voice, "Remember, we're doing this for Henry." She turned and walked toward the booth, not completely surprised to hear footsteps behind her.

Breakfast was an odd combination of mirth and awkward silences. Emma discovered that Regina would occasionally forget herself and use her sharp wit to say something hilarious. For example, Emma almost spit out her coffee when in response to Michael giving Ruby an update on her car repairs, Regina muttered "Oh, I am sure he has an extra crankshaft he can give her."

The best was when Henry, having overheard her, asked what a crankshaft was. Regina, without so much a batted eyelash, answered. "It is a large rotating shaft that ultimately makes the car's wheels go round. Ms. Lucas's probably wore out from overuse."

Choking from Emma's side of the booth caused Regina to pause, look around and frown as if she were berating herself for relaxing. Emma, deciding that she could not let this moment pass, asked with a cheeky grin, "So, Regina, how exactly does a crankshaft wear out? I thought they were pretty indestructible."

"Oh, they are." Regina deadpanned, "But large amounts of high speed vibrating would break even the best crank, and Ms. Lucas is known for her…" Regina cleared her throat delicately, "Ability to put stress on an engine." Emma collapsed into her seat laughing while Henry looked back and forth between them with narrowed eyes.

"I may regret this, but where is the real mayor? What did you do with her, and when is she coming back?" Emma asked with a raised eyebrow.

Regina sighed and looked down at her hands, "There is your problem, Ms. Swan. I am not the Mayor today. I am a mom taking her kid to an amusement park." Regina ruffled Henry's hair smiling down at him.

"I am happy when my son is happy, and I have not seen him happy in a long while. Well... at least not while I was with him..." Regina trailed off, sorrow tugging at the edges of her eyes. "Anyway," She piped up with a genuine smile, "Henry is my heart, and I will enjoy his happiness as long as I can."

Emma looked over at the beautiful, warm woman across from her and wondered she had been hiding all this time. She also wondered when adjectives like beautiful and warm joined irritating, insufferable and pain-in-the-ass as part of her list of adjectives for Regina Mills. _If nothing else_ she thought, _It was shaping up to be an interesting day._

"Come on, guys, stop flirting and order." Henry said bouncing up and down in his seat. "I want to go to the park."

"Henry!" They both said at once.

"We are not flirting." Regina continued, looking around to see if anyone heard. "We are merely trying to get along"

"Okay... Okay... You are not flirting. Can we order now please? I am so hungry."

Emma winked at him and beckoned Ruby over. She had a feeling that it was going to be a good day.

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As the trio left the diner, Granny caught Regina's arm and pulled her aside. "Regina," she said with a gentle smile. "It has been so long since I've seen you smile and laugh like this. Not since…" Granny paused stumbling over her words. "Not since you went away."

Regina's face hardened, her eyes staring at the hand on her arm. "That was a long time ago, and we were all very different people then. Weren't we Granny?" She pulled her arm away. "I have to go. My son is waiting for me. Unlike some, I refuse to leave a child to wait and wonder if anyone cares enough to come get them."

Emma watched the tense exchange from beside Regina's car. Her curiosity piqued as Granny's soft smile morphed into something that looked a lot like grief.

"Is everything okay?" Emma asked as a stony faced Regina walked up to the car.

"Yes, Sheriff Swan, everything is fine. Granny Lucas is obviously labouring under the illusion that my recent presence in her diner means something other than a desire for food I have not prepared myself."

"Are you okay… I mean… Are you still up for this trip?" Emma asked ensuring that Henry was out of earshot.

"Yes, if I don't get out of this town this moment— " Regina balled her fists and looked up at the sky. Emma was shocked to realise that Regina was blinking back tears. "I need to get out of here. So get in or don't, but I'm leaving this town now."

"Regina?" Emma started, a question in her voice.

"Dont!" Regina wrenched her body away from Emma's outstretched hand. "You and I are not friends, and there are certain things you do not get to ask." She looked over at her son, "Henry, get in the car. We are leaving. Now!" Turning back toward Emma, she barked, "Are you getting in or not?"

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Emma got in the car, and sat back a little lost. All it had taken for Regina's tentative good mood to disappear, was a brief conversation with Granny. Now instead of a smiling companion, she was seated across the console from a seething woman with a white knuckled grip on steering wheel. She caught Henry's eyes in the rear-view mirror. He sighed as if to say that this was normal.

Emma received a third shock for the day when she heard the Radiohead filling the car. The fourth, fifth and sixth shocks being that Regina had a beautiful singing voice, knew every word to one of their most haunting songs and sang it like someone who lived the lyrics. Thom Yorke was a genius at capturing a lifetime of heartache in a few words and as line after line of those words left Regina's lips, Emma cried a little. The rawness of Regina's pain was too much. It sounded like the kind of pain that ran deep and spreading, like a nail driven halfway through rock. Emma wondered how long before that it spread to her son, or maybe it already had.

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A/N: The original version of this chapter was a light-hearted interlude. This one is, obviously, different. Please let me know if it feels authentic.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** For those not familiar with OK Computer (one of the best albums of the nineties, if not all time) the relevant lyrics of Let Down (you should youtube it) are as follows:

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You know, you know where you are with,  
you know where you are with,  
floor collapsing, falling, bouncing back  
and one day, I'm gonna grow wings,  
a chemical reaction, [You know where you are,]  
hysterical and useless [you know where you are,]  
hysterical and [you know where you are,]

let down and hanging around,  
crushed like a bug in the ground.  
Let down and hanging around.

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Thom Yorke sings those verses in a haunting crescendo. I picture Regina belting it out and reliving whatever pain she was going through when she first heard that song.

**Author's Note 2:** The root causes of Regina's brokenness will be revealed as the story unfolds. Granny's comments will make sense, as will Regina's harsh reaction to them.

**Author's Note 3:** The reviews are making my day. Please keep them coming.

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It is one thing to know that someone is a Mercedes driving car freak, but it is something else entirely to be barrelling down the interstate in said car freak's Mercedes. Regina's handling of the powerful car could only be described as elegant, not that Emma had ever thought she would find herself describing someone's driving as elegant. Then again, Emma had never seen anyone handle a clutch and gear stick like Regina handled a clutch and gear stick.

"So, you really like cars?" Emma said trying to draw Regina into conversation.

Henry snorted in the back seat, "Like is an understatement, Emma. Mom only drives stick, only drives 'performance vehicles' and calls this a 'marvel of German Engineering'."

"Henry hush, and refrain from using air quotes. I find them uncouth." Regina said, a light blush staining her cheeks.

"It even has a name," Henry squeaked before Regina could stop him.

"Dude, seriously?" Emma said to no one in particular. "This car has a name? Oh come on… Someone has to tell me what it is."

"Fine Sheriff, " Regina muttered with a hint of a smile, "This car is Cervantes."

"This car? You say that like there are others."

"Well…" Regina a broad smile painted on her face. "I just bought my dream car. It will be called Evil Regal."

"Right…" Emma drawled, "So… How does a fancy girl like you get so into cars?"

"My Dad had a thing for cars, and I loved my Dad." Regina said with a shrug. "I wanted to be a test driver once. It would have made Daddy so proud"

Emma's eyebrows shot up into her head, "Really, you a test driver? What happened?"

Regina's face grew grim, "My mother happened, Sheriff Swan, and this is another topic you do not get to ask me about. "

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"Ms. Swan, I can feel you thinking at me. It is distracting. What's on your mind?" Regina asked, her voice wavering between amused and exasperated.

"First," said Emma. "We are taking our kid to an amusement park. I think we can be on first name terms for today, Regina. Second, I can't figure you out. You are actually kind've fun to be around. Well… When you aren't all pissy about something, but still you are cool. " Emma took a quick look in the back to make sure Henry's headphones were in and swivelled in the seat to face Regina, " You have a wicked sense of humour, and I've never met anyone who made car talk interesting. What gives, Regina, why are you usually so unpleasant."

"Ms. Swan... Emma" Regina corrected herself quickly. "I see, no beating around the bush for you? I am mayor of a very small town. Everyone knows everything about everyone else, or at least thinks they do. Further, they all have strong opinions on every aspect of everything. Also..." she paused, obviously searching for the correct words.

"You are new enough to have not experienced the contempt that comes familiarity in this town. Can you imagine how tough it can be run a town council meeting when at least two of the members remember catching the high school version of you under the bleachers in a compromising situation? I am young, female, not too hard on the eyes, unmarried and a... well... that's a conversation for another day." Regina trailed off uncomfortably

"Nevertheless, I do not see how I could run this town without an iron fist." She said finding her voice again. "Kudos to you if you have found a way to be nice and an effective Sheriff at the same time. I have learned, the hard way, that I can be nice or I can be mayor."

Emma was about to pursue Regina on the part she left out earlier, but her final words struck a chord. It was becoming harder to do her job as sheriff, and not offend any of her friends. Not that she was about to admit that to Regina. As far as she was concerned, her task was to find the happy medium between harpy and pushover.

"Regina," Emma started in a low voice. "I probably should leave this alone, but that does not explain the way you come at people. Okay…" Emma took in Regina's raised eyebrow. "That doesn't explain the way you came at me. I was new in town, and didn't know anything about you or Storeybrook politics. You could have been nice. "

Regina paused for a while, mouth opening and closing while she searched for the words. "My son ran away to find you. He lied, stole and ran away all in the interests of finding his real mother. He left me, Emma, and only came back because you brought him back. "

Then Regina spoke again, slowly and with great care, almost as if she were talking to herself, "But you know... The other day at the mine... You were right... I was not physically able to bring him out of that mine. You got him, and you brought him back to me. I am grateful. I still resent the hell out of you, but I am grateful."

* * *

"Regina?"

"Yes, Emma."

"Radiohead? Seriously?! You are into Radiohead? I thought girls like you only listened to classical music and Yanni."

"Yanni! No one listens to—"

"Gotcha! I wanted to see if you were paying attention or still pouting over there."

"Emma Swan, I do not pout, Furthermore, I am not going to entertain your weird impressions as to what 'girls like me' do. If you must know, I started listening to Radiohead when I was in boarding school. I had a…" Regina smiled, a far away look in her eyes. "A friend who loved Radiohead. We would hang out in her room and listen to Ok Computer for hours. Mother would have been very unhappy if she know I was listening to something so common as pop music, but I didn't care. Anyway, I still like Radiohead, although their recent albums all sound the same. They should have stopped at Kid A."

"Mom, " Henry spoke up from the back seat sleep still in his voice. "You went to boarding school. What was it like? "

For what felt like the umpteenth time that day, Regina's face hardened, "A prison sentence." As she stepped on the gas and turned up the music, Emma and Henry shared a sad look through the rear-view mirror.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who has followed and reviewed. I do a little happy dance every single time an alert comes in. I got myself an incredible beta last week. Her name is Silverie, and she writes Mirandy fanfic. You should go take a look. You will not regret it. We have revised the first two chapters. Please take a look and let me know what you think.

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"We're here." Regina announced. "You and Henry go get in the line and get the tickets. I'll park and meet you at the front gate."

"Mom" Henry started with a slight whine "I thought you said we were going to stay together today. You doing one thing while we do the other is not staying together."

"Henry, we are staying together. It is simply more efficient for you and Ms. Swan… Emma excuse me… to get in line for the tickets while I find somewhere to park. Why should all three of us have to wander around this apology for a parking lot?"

Emma sensed Henry settling in for an argument. She had seen those squared shoulders and furrowed brow in the mirror far too often not to know the bull-headed determination behind it. The stubbornness inherited from his birth mother plus the negotiating ability and eye for detail from his adoptive mother made Henry one formidable child. She could already see his teenage years being a doozy.

"Regina," Emma said gently "He's right. We did promise that we would all stay together today. The extra ten minutes we spend parking is not going to make that big of a difference."

Regina's jaw tensed and released repeatedly. Emma suppressed a frustrated groan. It was clear that this outing was about to go downhill fast.

_No wonder Henry and Regina are having problems, _she thought. _They have the perfect recipe for disaster here. Henry is stubborn and, to be honest, a little spoiled. Regina is a control freak and they have no one to act as a buffer._

Emma sighed to herself and decided to fix the problem in the one way she knew would let Henry have his way, and Regina save face.

"Come on, Mom" she whined in her best annoying teenager voice. "You promised. Please let us stay with you."

"Yeah, Mom. Please." Henry chimed in mimicking Emma's expression and high-pitched whine.

Regina looked from Henry to Emma. It was like looking at the same person at different points in time. They were adorable. She could not stay mad. "Okay… Fine… We can stay together." Regina said releasing the tension in her jaw, a small smile playing over her lips. "Don't blame me if someone twists an ankle out here."

Emma grinned "Madame Mayor, I have the distinct feeling that you are less concerned with someone twisting an ankle, than with the prospect of us seeing you drive around in circles looking for the least churned spot to park your marvel of German engineering."

"Are you making fun of me, Ms. Swan?" Regina purred, a full blown smile now in evidence.

"Who me? Make fun of you? No. Perish the thought." Emma tried to keep a straight face as Henry completely lost it in the back seat.

"Emma, you are so right," he squealed, gasping for breath. "There was this one time, last year, when Mom drove around for thirty minutes looking for a clean spot. It was hilarious."

"Henry, I just wanted to make sure that you did not get your new sneakers muddy. There is nothing wrong with that." With that Regina sniffed and pulled into the first available spot.

Regina reached over Emma to get something from the glove compartment and whispered in her ear. Her voice a full octave lower, "Revenge, Ms. Swan, is a dish best served cold. We'll see who's laughing later." Emma squirmed in her seat giving Regina a wary look.

* * *

Kids who grow up in the system often become masters of manipulation and dissimulation**. **Emma Swan was no different. She could lie, cheat, steal and dissemble with the best. She did, however, have one unbreakable rule. She could lie to the world, but never, ever to herself. It was that promise of personal honesty that found her marvelling at the figure Regina Mills cut in a pair of skinny jeans and high boots. _Good God, _Emma mused as she stood in the line behind Henry and the subject of her gaze._ If she wore this stuff around town more she would have no problem getting the men, and more than a few of the women, to do whatever she wanted. I mean, look at those jeans, could they be anymore snug?_

Henry startled her out of her thoughts by tugging her through the turnstile while talking a mile a minute. "It's time to go in Emma. We are going to have so much fun. You like roller coasters right? Mom and I love roller coasters. You will come ride them with us, right?"

"Yes, kid, I will." Emma grinned catching the eye of a Regina who the most impatient little dance she had ever seen.

"Before you ask, Emma. Yes, I love roller coasters. I am a single mom to an active little boy. I love comic books, video games, roller coasters, laser tag and wrestling. If Henry likes it, I do too."

Emma's mouth raced ahead of her brain, as she came to a dead stop, grabbed Henry's shoulder and said with wonder, "Kid! Do you have any idea how lucky you are?"

"Emma," came Henry's reply, "but she's the E—"

"Stop!" Emma crouched down to look right into Henry's eyes. "No more. Yes, your Mom can be moody and rude, but from what I've seen over the past few days she is an awesome Mom to you. So, if you and I are going to be friends, you've got to quit it with the Evil Queen business."

Emma grasped his shoulder a little tighter, her tone and expression earnest. "This is important to me, Kid, I need you to understand this. I did not have a mom. I had people who took care of me sometimes, if they felt like it, but I did not have a Mom who would do fun things with me. You do."

She pulled him into a tight hug whispering into his ear, "I love you. I'm glad I'm here, and I'm so happy that you and your mom came too. We are going to leave this conversation right here, and have a wonderful day right?" She held back and looked him in the eyes again. "Right?"

Henry sniffled a bit, but nodded his assent. Emma looked up to see Regina standing off to side dabbing at wet eyes.

"Regina, are we good?"

"We're good, Emma."

"Right, let's get this party started." Emma got up out of her crouch, dusted off her knees and hissed at a man standing near them, "Take a picture. It will last longer." She had about enough of his leering at Regina. A woman should be able to wear attractive clothing without being eye-fucked by a bunch of creeps.

"Why Sheriff Swan," Regina sidled up to Emma with a smirk and a slow once over, "I see your protective instincts remain even when off duty. I ought to bring you out with me more often."

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P.S I'm trying to figure out uploading and doc conversion to . Please let me know if anything looks weird with the formatting.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited and followed this story. Please let me know, through a review or a pm, what you think about the characters and my take on Henry's situation. My beta, Siliverie, rocks. You should see what it looks like before she gets her hands on it. There will be sexy times. Give me a few more chapters to get the fires burning. Enjoy!

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"I feel like I'm trapped in a fucking episode of the fucking Twilight Zone." Emma grumbled under her breath. The outing had started off well enough. Regina, as to be expected, had a detailed plan on how, where, and when they were going to do the more popular rides. Apparently, she and Henry did a Canobie Lake trip at least once a year and they had figured out the best way to do everything.

Other than the obsessive dedication to the plan they both displayed, Henry and Regina were a pleasure to be with. They took lots of breaks, scheduled of course. They did not mind the possibility of getting soaked on the water ride. In fact, they sat at the very front, ensuring maximum exposure to the water. Of course, Regina had spare shirts in her mom bag. Heaven forbid any detail be left unplanned. They even had one for Emma; a blue silk button down that fit like a dream. They were simply a fun pair to be around.

Emma's problem was not the planning, or the surprisingly enjoyable time she was having with her son and the woman who adopted him. It was not even that the sight of Regina in a wet, white button down sent a stab of arousal through Emma so sharp, she considered finding an excuse to spend five uninterrupted minutes in a dark place.

No, the problem was none of the above. The problem was the person Regina became after Henry abandoned them to spend time with some friends who happened to be in the park. More to the point, the problem was that Regina managed to arrange things such that she, Emma Swan, found herself, at this moment, in a clothing store on Boston's Newbury Street trying on several pairs of True Religion jeans.

The series of events leading to said sojourn to Newbury Street started off innocently enough. Regina jumped at the chance to do something, a gondola ride around the eponymous Canobie Lake that Henry would have found boring. As with all things Regina, Emma quickly, without quite knowing what was happening, found herself on a pile cushions in the back of a gondola with a half-finished bottle of wine. A tipsy Regina Mills all but sitting on her lap.

Apparently, a perk of being a semi-constant visitor to Canobie Lake was knowing where adults could find a little liquid courage. Emma idly wondered if Regina had a hookup at Disney too, because there was no way anyone over the age of 12 could get through a day in the Magic Kingdom without a drink. Emma idly wondered lots of things on that ride, one of which being if anyone else in town knew that the tipsy version of Regina was handsy, chatty and showed single-minded dedication to fixing their relationship 'for Henry's sake'.

"Emma," Regina's slur drawing her companion back to the present. "I have a confession to make. You aren't the only one that could have done things differently." She looked down at her hands, drew them together as if in prayer and brought them to her lips. "I didn't have to be such a bitch to you. I'm sorry."

"Uhh... " Emma stammered, "Thanks. I don't think I ever thought I'd hear you apologise for anything."

Regina stretched like a cat in the sun, looking up at Emma through her lashes. "You should enjoy it, dear. It will never happen again."

Emma sat straight up, "So, does that mean you don't resent the hell out of me anymore'?"

"No, " Regina responded with a matter-of-fact shrug. "I still resent you, but me admitting this to you means that I am going to try to get over it."

Emma just looked confused.

"Look," Regina also sat up and held Emma's eye. "The first thing you learn in small town politics is to pick your battles, and trying to run you out of town was the wrong battle." She blew out a long breath. "Henry has problems, Emma. He is ten. His fantasy world shouldn't still be so well developed, and he definitely should not be so invested in it that he runs off to Boston to bring back the White Knight from his book. His therapist thinks he's using this whole thing to deal with his loneliness and confusion about being adopted, but... " She ran a trembling hand over her face. "I'm scared. What if it isn't so simple? What if he's schizophrenic or something?"

Despite, or maybe because of, Regina's unusually emotional display, Emma reached out took one of Regina's hands. She looked at it and noticed that the nails were bitten. Regina did not strike Emma as the type of person who bit her nails. She tried to pull it back, but Emma held on. "I'm worried about that too, but you don't have to handle this all by yourself. I know I'm not his real mom, you are, but I'm willing to help if you let me."

Regina looked at Emma for a long time before she spoke again. "Help is not something I'm used to asking for or accepting. When it comes down to it, I don't even have many friends. I don't think-"

Emma squeezed the hand in hers, wordlessly asking Regina to stop. "I move around, a lot. I don't do friends or help much either. Up until recently, I didn't even do complicated." She released Regina's hand gazing out into the distance. "But, we share a kid who has issues. We also have to work very closely together. Like I said before, we don't have to do sleep-overs or braid each other's hair, but can't we at least team up to help the kid?"

Regina reached over the side of the boat, trailing fingers through the water. "You know, there was a time when I would have been too uptight to put my hands in this water. " She shrugged and let out a bitter laugh, "Hell, there was a time when I would never have let Henry go off in this park without me, but this year..." She let a long breath whistle past her lips, "this year has put a lot of things in perspective. The only thing I care about right now is helping my boy. How about we try this, I don't know exactly how you can help me with Henry's issues, but maybe we can all spend some time together and figure it out? "

Emma was about to speak, when Regina put a finger to her lips. "I have a proposal for you, something we can do together. Henry and I have access to tickets for tomorrow's Red Sox double header. It is Maine Day at Fenway and the Yankees are in town. Would you like to join us?" She played with the ring on her hand. "It'll be fun, and Henry would love it if you came along. We don't even have to go back to Storybrooke tonight. We could drive straight to Boston, and get a hotel room somewhere."

Emma pinned Regina with a glare, "Did you plan this Fenway trip as a 'which Mommy can show me the best time' kinda thing?"

Regina had the good graces to blush, "Yes, that was my plan originally, but I'm inviting you along now. It is for Henry's sake of course."

"I'd like to join you, but I only have what I'm wearing now and the wet shirt from earlier."

"Irrelevant!" Regina dismissed the complaint with a wave. "If we leave here early enough, we can get to Newbury Street before the shops close."

"Woah there, Madam Mayor. I don't Newbury Street kinda money. I'm a lowly paid government employee remember?"

"But I do, and this trip is my idea. Thus, I am paying, for everything... Any further objections or will you accept my very gracious invitation to an All-expenses paid trip to the only ballpark in America that sells out every single game?"

"Well, since you put it that way," Emma said with a grin. "Yes."

As it turns out, Regina was skilled at not letting an opportunity pass her by. What Emma thought would be a quick stop at the nearest clothing store, turned into an hours long reshaping of her wardrobe. Regina knew not to press her luck, Emma was an unrepentant jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. However, that did not mean that she could not be a designer jeans and t-shirt kind of girl.

"Really, Regina?" Emma called out as a yet another pair of jeans sailed over the top of the dressing room door. "Why do I need five pairs of jeans? This is getting slightly ridiculous now. Besides, Henry must be bored out of his mind."

"Actually, Emma," Regina said in a tone dripping with amused condescension. "Henry is helping me pick stuff out. He is my son. He has an impeccable fashion sense. Besides, I'm paying - shut up and enjoy the ride."

"Yeah, Emma," Henry chimed in. "Your stuff looks nice on you, but it's kinda ratty. Mom says that you're a beautiful woman, but people would take you more seriously if you didn't dress like a poor relation."

"Henry!"

"Sorry, mom, but you've been talking about taking on Emma's wardrobe as a project for months. We probably don't have time to do business wear today, but now that you have her measurements you can finally order that new Sheriff's uniform."

"Oh, God..." Regina groaned. "Henry, do me a favour, and go take a look at the shoes. The ones all the way over on the other side of the store."

Emma her head out of the dressing room, not even bothering to suppress her laugh. "The kid certainly gave away your secrets, Regina. You know, I should be offended that my wardrobe is a topic of discussion at the Mills residence, but it is so cute that you're worried about how people see me."

Regina's response was curt, "You are the Sheriff of my town. Of course I worry about how people view you. The town needs to look at you and see someone they can trust in a crisis. Image is even more important when you have to deal with the state. Sexy sheriffs get a lot of attention, but not a whole lot of respect."

"So," Emma strutted out of the dressing room, smiling as Regina's slow perusal showed just how well the new jeans fit. Her smile grew wider as Regina's eyes darkened at the sight of the badge at Emma's waist. "You think I'm a sexy sheriff?"

"Seriously, Ms. Swan, is that all you got out of the conversation?" Regina said in a voice just a tad higher than normal.

"Nope," Emma winked. "Apparently, you also think that I'm beautiful."


End file.
